Empress Jingū

nihongo|Empress Jingū|神功天皇|"Jingū tennō", also known as nihongo|Empress-consort Jingū|神功皇后|"Jingū-kōgō", (c. AD 169 - 269) was a legendary empress of Chūai who also served as Regent and de facto leader from the time of her husband's death in 209 until her son Emperor Ōjin acceded to the throne in 269. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du japon," pp. 15-18; Varley, Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki," pp. 101-103.] Up until the Meiji period, Jingū was considered to have been the 15th Japanese imperial ruler, according to the traditional order of succession; [Titsingh, p. 15.] but a re-evaluation of the extant historical records caused her name to be removed from that list; and her son, Emperor Ōjin, is today considered to have been the 15th sovereign.

No firm dates can be assigned to this empress' life or reign. Jingū is regarded by historians as a "legendary" figure because of the paucity of information about her, which does not necessarily imply that no such person ever existed. Rather, scholars can only lament that, at this time, there is insufficient material available for further verification and study. Jingū's name before her accession to the throne -- if she had acceded -- would have been Okinagatarashi-hime (息長帯比売). Legend has it that she led an army in an invasion of Korea and returned to Japan victorious after three years. Her son Ōjin was born following her return. The legend alleges that her son was conceived but unborn when Chūai died. After those three years, the boy was born. Either a period of less than nine months contained three "years" (some seasons), e.g. three harvests, or the paternity of her late husband was just mythical and symbolic, rather than real. [Aston, William. (1998). "Nihongi," Vol. 1, pp. 224-253.]

Some believe that Empress Jingū's conquest is only based on the Gwanggaeto Stele. But the legend of Jingū's invasion of the Korean peninsula also appears in the ancient Japanese chronicles Kojiki written in 680 and Nihon Shoki written in 720.

Some claim that characters were modified and the Japanese presence added on the Gwanggaeto Stele. Today, most Chinese and Japanese scholars discredit the intentionally damaged stele theory based on the study of the stele itselfTakeda, Yukio. "Studies on the King Gwanggaeto Inscription and Their Basis". "Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko". 47(1989):57-87.] Xu, Jianxin. "好太王碑拓本の研究 (An Investigation of Rubbings from the Stele of Haotai Wang)". Tokyodo Shuppan, 2006. ISBN 9784490205695.] and the pre–Sakō and pre-lime-marred rubbings.. [Oh, Byung-sang, [http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1909310 "FOUNTAIN: Echoes of drumming hoofbeats"] , JoongAng Ilbo, October 04, 2002.] Japanese military activities, which were frequent in the time of Gwanggaeto, represent half of the stele.

The Chinese Book of Song of the Liu Song Dynasty, written by the Chinese historian Shen Yue (441-513), notes the Japanese presence in the Korean peninsula. However, the Liu Song dynasty, as a southern Chinese dynasty of ancient times, had little contact with northeast Asia and most historians in Japan, Korea, and elsewhere believe that this dynasty most likely treated Baekje, Silla, and Yamato Japan as one and the same. It is unlikely that this error was committed with regards to the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo because they were major powers at the time.

The Chinese Book of Sui of the Sui Dynasty says that Japan provided military support to Baekje and Silla.Chinese History Record Book of Sui : 隋書 東夷伝 第81巻列伝46 : 新羅、百濟皆以倭為大國，多珍物，並敬仰之，恆通使往來 [http://www.guoxue.com/shibu/24shi/suisu/sui_081.htm] [http://www.chinakyl.com/rbbook/big5/25/suishu/suis81.html] ]

According to the Samguk Sagi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms), written in 1145, King Asin sent his son Jeonji as a hostage in 397. [cite book | title = Samguk Sagi | language = Korean | url= http://www.koreandb.net/Sam/bon/samkuk/04_250_2001365.htm | quote = 六年 夏五月 王與倭國結好 以太子腆支爲質] , and King Silseong of Silla sent his son as a hostage in 402; both were attempts to secure military aid from Yamato Japan so that the two nations could continue campaigns they had begun prior to the requests.

Arai Hakuseki claimed that she was actually Himiko, the third century shaman-queen of Yamataikoku, and, because Himiko was a historical figure, had to be included as a member of the imperial family by the authors of the "Nihon Shoki".

In 1881, Empress Jingū became the first woman to be featured on the Japanese banknote. [ [http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/history_18sub.htm Bank of Japan] ] Excluding the legendary Jingū, there were eight reigning empresses and their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070327i1.html "Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl,"] "Japan Times." March 27, 2007.] Empress Gemmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.

Although the final resting place of this legendary regent/sovereign remains unknown, Jingū's officially designated "misasagi" or tomb can be visited today at Misasagi-cho, Nara City. [ [http://narashikanko.jp/english/aria_map/map_pdf/39.pdf Jingū's "misasagi" -- map (lower right)] ] This "kofun"-type Imperial tomb is characterized by a keyhole-shaped island located within a wide, water-filled moat. [ [http://www.ozlab.osakac.ac.jp/KOFUN_E/ context of "kofun" characteristics] ]

References

* Aston, William George. (1896). "Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697". London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. [reprinted by Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2007. 10-ISBN 0-8048-0984-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-8048-0984-9 (paper)]
* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220] , "Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219)." Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652] , "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)]
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359] , "Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley)." New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4

ee also

* Emperor of Japan
* List of Emperors of Japan
*Japanese empresses
* Imperial cult

External links

* Bank of Japan: [http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/history_18sub.htm ...Click link for image of Empress Jingū on bank note (1883)]
* Stamp library: [http://www.sandafayre.com/Gallery/stamp_2330.htm ...Click link for image of Empress Jingū on 10-yen violet postage stamp (1924)]
* Stamp library: [http://www.sandafayre.com/Gallery/stamp_2341.htm ...Click link for image of Empress Jingū on 10-yen green postage stamp (1924)]